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Obamas made almost $800,000 in 2011

Via my colleague Jennifer Epstein, the Obamas and the Bidens released their 2011 tax returns this morning:

President Barack Obama’s tax return shows that he and first lady Michelle Obama earned nearly $800,000 in 2011 and paid a federal income tax rate of 20.5 percent.

The White House’s release of the Obamas’ tax return, as well as the Bidens’, comes after a week in which the administration and the Obama campaign has been pushing the Buffett rule, which would set a minimum income tax rate of 30 percent for Americans earning more than $1 million annually.

The Obamas’ jointly filed tax return reports a total adjusted gross income of $789,674, with just more than half of that income coming from the president’s pre-tax salary of $400,000. The rest came from proceeds of the president’s books. In all, the first couple paid federal income taxes totaling $162,074, plus $31,941 in Illinois state income taxes.

The Obamas gave $172,130 — 22 percent of their adjusted gross income — to more than three dozen charities. The largest gift was of $117,130 to the Fisher House Foundation, to which the president is donating proceeds of his children’s book.

Joe Biden and his wife Jill reported income totaling $379,035 in 2011, including the vice president’s salary of just over $230,000. Despite bringing in roughly half the annual income of the president and first lady, the Bidens paid a higher federal income tax rate. In all, they paid $87,900 in federal income taxes, a rate of 23.2 percent.